The WSJ Magazine has an interview between men’s tennis great Roger Federer—who at 37 years of age has once again claimed a number one ranking in men’s tennis—and reporter Jason Gay. In it, he is both asked about and compared to women’s tennis great Serena Williams.
Nadal will always be remembered as Federer’s top rival, but Federer’s closest contemporary may be a legend on the women’s side, Serena Williams, who was born seven weeks after him in 1981. The holder of 23 singles Grand Slams, Williams recently returned to the sport after giving birth to her first child. Federer marvels at Williams: “It’s been fascinating to watch. She had a totally different upbringing—I came up through Switzerland with the federation, she did it with her dad and her sister. It’s an amazing story unto itself—and then she became one of the greatest, if not the greatest tennis player of all time.”
Gay remarks that to many Roger Federer is the greatest of all time; and there have always been athletes who like to separate women’s and men’s athletics in such a way as to diminish one over the other.
“Overall,” Federer clarifies. He ticks off the staggering stats of players like Williams and Steffi Graf, which eclipse those of anyone in men’s tennis, especially when one factors in all of Serena’s doubles titles.
Federer cements his most-awesome-person-being-interviewed status by also explaining that with myriad changes in all sports over time, comparing players from different eras is silly in most respects. But his admiration for what the Williams’ sisters have accomplished seems to know no bounds, and the respect is clearly mutual.
(A few weeks later, I see Williams at the premiere of her HBO documentary series, Being Serena, where I relay Federer’s GOAT comment. “I think we can say that about both of us, respectively,” she says. “He’s done amazing things in his career—I have the utmost respect for him. He’s a wonderful athlete, a great guy. I love what he’s doing [with his foundation] in Africa too. That was really impressive to me.”)
Williams is referring to Roger Federer’s Education in Africa work, through his foundation.
Nolonwabo Batini, a 15-year-old girl from Ndzondelelo High School in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, made this self-confident discovery when Roger visited her school. Her conviction became the vision and central theme of the Roger Federer Foundation.
The Roger Federer Foundation enhances a world where children living in poverty are able to take control of their future and actively shape it. We wish to empower as many African children as possible through access to high-quality early learning and education. We aim to further develop existing educational services and early support in a sustainable way. Although access to primary education has significantly increased in recent years, fundamental problems such as low classroom performance, poor attendance, high numbers of drop-outs and low school completion rates still persist, as well as a lack of early childhood education. The quality of early support and basic education is crucial as it is the foundation of all learning.
I haven’t much followed tennis the way I once did; but Roger Federer just went up about 1,000 points in my book.